José González González González (1895-1961), known by the people of Fasnia as “Pepe Urbano”, was a popular poet who was much loved in the village. He was a man with a special talent in the art of composing verses, as only people who are sensitive to their surroundings and who love words above all else do. Pepe Urbano found in the décima his best shelter.
The history of the Canary Islands is closely linked to America and there are many traces of the transit of people and culture between our archipelago and Latin American countries. In the islands, returned emigrants are still called “indianos”, with their clothing, customs and, on occasions, fortune.
One of the references of this cultural exchange is folklore. In particular, Canarian music and the music that has become established in each of the Caribbean or Central and South American countries are closely related, as is the particular case of the Cuban “punto cubano”. This genre is present in the Canary Islands and Cuba, but linked to other folkloric manifestations of the American continent (milongas, trovadas…) with the décima as a nexus. If the Cuban dot is still alive in this archipelago, it is thanks to those who returned to the islands to germinate the seed of this musical language, as happened in Fasnia, where a group of returned emigrants (including Pepe Urbano) kept this manifestation alive. This finally led to the establishment of the international meeting of verseadores which is held every year in this town, where folklore, improvisation, critical sense, irony and good humour come together.
The “Encuentro Internacional de Verseadores Pepe Urbano: Verseando por Fasnia” began in 2016 with the aim of becoming a meeting point and showcase for a particular musical genre: poetic improvisation and Cuban point. Over the years it has been consolidated in an unequivocal way in our town and its region, becoming a reference for Tenerife and the rest of the Canary Islands. This Festival is an activity promoted by the Town Council of Fasnia in collaboration with the Fundación Canaria Ocho Sílabas and different associations and groups that have strengthened the figure of Pepe Urbano. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
